"Realistically, I didn't think that we would be able to play man-to-man, but we really didn't have any choice," Boeheim said. "We were forced into the situation, and the kids responded tremendously."

Chevy Troutman and Ontario Lett combined for 20 points in the first half as Pitt scored 28 in the paint, hitting 17 of 31 shots. The Panthers (15-2, 5-1) led 43-31 at the break and seemed poised to reach No. 1 for the first time in school history after Stanford upset top-ranked Arizona on Thursday night.

Instead, for the second time in a month, they squandered that chance. Pittsburgh, ranked second, lost at Georgia on Dec. 31, one day after then-No. 1 Alabama lost to Utah.

"It was a tough loss," Pitt coach Ben Howland said. "But you have to give Syracuse credit. They made the plays at the end."

In the second half, the Panthers no longer enjoyed easy baskets, going 7-of-24. They never found their range all night outside, going 3-of-22 on 3-pointers.

"We knew they didn't have any players other than Brandin Knight who could beat you one-on-one," said Kueth Duany, the Orangemen's lone senior.

Hakim Warrick led Syracuse with 20 points, while freshman Carmelo Anthony had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Duany had 15 points.

Troutman led the Panthers with 16 points before fouling out with just over seven minutes left. Lett had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Jaron Brown scored 12 points.

Pitt seemed in good shape when Brown hit a 3 as the shot clock expired, giving the Panthers a 65-61 lead with 1:42 left.

But McNeil, a 6-foot-8, 257-pound backup center, grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Duany for a layup 17 seconds later. McNeil then drew a foul with 46 seconds left. Despite shooting 4-for-14 from the line in the previous 16 games, he made both free throws to tie it at 65.

"I was feeling pressure," he said. "Oh, yeah."

Pitt then went to Brown, but Duany stripped the ball with 10 seconds left. During a timeout, Boeheim instructed freshman point guard Gerry McNamara to take the ball to the basket.

McNamara drove against Knight, but when Lett slid over looking for a game-saving block, McNeil was left alone to put in McNamara's left-handed scoop.

"I thought the last play was probably an error in judgment in coming over to try and block because if you miss the block, you're opening yourself up for a layup," Howland said.

After hundreds of fans stormed the court, replays showed Pitt had called a timeout with .8 seconds left.

That gave the Panthers a last chance. Knight, who had missed eight 3-pointers, hit a 40-footer off the inbounds pass from Brown. Fans poured on the court again, knowing the shot was late, and a ruling confirmed that.

"When you're on the road, that's the type of thing you deal with," Knight said.